Change Your Destiny
by No Guns Only Roses
Summary: Mikey brings home an unconscious Turtle, and to everyone's surprise, it is another Leonardo from an alternate timeline. But there is something about him that gives them the creeps, especially Leo. A "What-If" story in which "Akari" Leonardo meets the present Turtles.
1. Chapter 1

**This does not actually happen in my Akari series. This is merely a "what if" scenario in which Akari!Leo meets the present Turtles. I was inspired by a TMNT comic that I read on deviantart. Takes place after the events of the episode "Owari" and before "Scroll of the Demodragon".**

 **NOTE: There will probably be grammar mistakes which I will fix later.**

"See you dudes in a bit!"

Mikey grabbed his skateboard as he walked out of the living room. Leo glanced away from the T.V and called after his little brother. "Mikey! Be back by 11:00!"

Mikey rolled his eyes. "Yes, _Sensei_." The tunnels echoed with the rolling of the skateboard's wheels as Mikey disappeared.

Leo wasn't used to being called "Sensei" by his brothers, and he knew that they felt the same way. In their eyes, he would always be their eldest brother and leader, but never their Sensei. Leo, himself, didn't feel worthy enough to take Splinter's place, not that he ever could, anyway. A hole had been drilled in their hearts by the sudden death of their adoptive father several weeks ago, and they all tried to cope with it and move on, but it was so hard. Up until this point, they never actually lost a family member, and they believed that they would stay together forever, even though Splinter told them that nothing lasts forever, not even family.

Leo felt a lump forming in his throat. He really missed Father. They all did.

Trying to get his mind off the grim subject, Leo went back to the T.V and continued to watch his favorite show, _Space Heroes_.

...

Donnie yawned as he stepped out of his lab, and was surprised to find Leo still glued to the T.V, even though three hours had already passed. "Leo, you know that's not good for your eyes." He stepped down into the T.V area and stood next to his brother, only to find that he was actually asleep, his head bowed and his eyes closed. Donnie knelt down and gently shook Leo. "Leo? Hey, wake up."

Leo's eyes shot open and his whipped his head up. "Huh? Wha-? Oh." He stretched himself and yawned. "Must've dozed off. What time is it?"

"It's 11:58," Donnie told him.

"11:58?" Leo looked up at Donnie in surprise. "It's been three hours? Geez." He then remembered something very important. "Is Mikey back yet?"

The gap-toothed genius shook his head. "No."

Immediately the leader began to worry. "No? He was supposed to be back fifty minutes ago." He stood up and reached for the T-phone in his belt. "I'm calling him. Something's wrong."

"Leo, calm down," Donnie placed a hand on his shoulder. "Mikey probably went to get pizza or something. You know he always stays out beyond curfew time."

Leo didn't listen and dialed the number for Mikey's phone. He brought it up to his ear and waited for his little brother to answer. But then they heard what sounded like Mikey's ring tone in the tunnels. Leo and Donnie looked at each other in confusion before heading to the exit, not even bothering to get flashlights.

"Mikey?!" Leo called for him as they ran through the darkness. "Mikey, are you in here?!"

"GUYS!" Mikey's voice called out in the distance. He sounded scared. "I'M OVER HERE!"

They picked up the pace and followed his voice until they at last found their little brother supporting someone on his shoulder. It was too dark for them to see the stranger's face, but they were shocked to see that it was another larger turtle.

Leo approached the two, studying the person's face as much as he could in the dark. That snout looked awfully familiar. "Mikey," he whispered, "who is this?"

"Dude, I have no idea," Mikey softly said. "I found him in lying on the street a couple of blocks from here. He's still breathing, but he looks badly hurt."

Donnie leaned in and looked him over. "Yeah, I think I see a head wound. We'd better get him to the lab pronto." He lended Mikey a hand in carrying the Turtle to the lair while Leo followed them, keeping his eye on the stranger. Something felt familiar about him.

Once they reached the lab and placed the Turtle on the table, they got a better look at him in the light. He wore a black ninja mask, black sleeves, and black leg wrappings. Right across his right eye and beak were two nasty scars. But what stood out the most about him was the black snake tattoo on his plastron.

Leo studied his face and his eyes widened in shock and realization.

 _No way...it couldn't be...!_

"Guys..." he whispered, "this Turtle...he's _me_...!"

Both Mikey and Donnie looked up at him. "What?" they said in unison.

Leo nodded, his eyes still locked on the Turtle's face. "I'm certain of it. It's me."

Mikey leaned over the Turtle, curiously poking at his cheek. "Huh. You know, he really does look a lot like Leo, only a little bit older and and scarier."

Leo turned to his genius brother. "But how can this be?"

Donnie rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, it could be either one of two things: a clone or a Leonardo from an another dimension. And considering our luck, I'm leaning toward the dimension theory."

"Dude," Mikey said in awe, "check out his wicked snake tattoo." He slowly traced his finger over the black snake on his plastron.

"Mikey, don't touch him," Leo warned.

"I think you mean, 'Don't touch me'?" Mikey smirked playfully as he hovered his finger over the other Leo's face. "I'm not touching you," he said in singsong tone. "I'm not touching you."

"Mikey, stop it," Leo snapped, slapping Mikey's finger away. The younger Turtle pouted and stuck his tongue out.

"Hey, what's going on?" Raph walked into the lab with Chompy on his shoulder, but he froze when he saw the stranger on the table. "Who the heck is this?"

"We found another Leo, yo!" Mikey pointed at the unconscious Turtle.

Raph raised an eye ridge and set Chompy down. "Another-?" He walked over to the table to see for himself. His emerald eyes widened as he began to realize that Mikey was telling the truth. "What the-? Donnie, what is this?"

"Cloning, alternate dimension," Donnie shrugged. "We don't know yet."

"Well, wake him up and ask him!"

"Raph, he's suffered a major head wound! He needs time to recover. It could be hours before he wakes up."

"Um, dudes?" Mikey said, catching their attention. "He's already awake."

They all turned to see older Leo stirring and quickly gathered around the table. His eyelids fluttered open and midnight blue orbs looked directly into Leo's. The younger Turtle felt like he was staring at his own reflection. It was the strangest sensation.

"Um, hello?" Leo chuckled nervously. Man, this was awkward.

Older Leonardo stared up at him for a moment before he looked at his surroundings and rubbed his eyes. "What...? Oh, my head." He clamped a hand over the head wound and started to sit up.

Donnie tried to gently ease him back on the table. "Easy. You have a head injury."

Leonardo looked at Donnie's right hand on his shoulder and gently touched it. It was flesh instead of metal. "Donnie?" he whispered as he lifted his head at the genius. "You...you're not...?"

"I'm not what?" Donnie asked, a little bit weirded out.

"Okay, who are you?" Raph demanded, slapping his hand on the table and surprising the older Turtle. "Are you who we think you are?"

Leonardo was surprised to see his hotheaded brother still having his left eye in its socket. "Raph?" He reached over to touch Raph's face, but the younger Turtle flinched away.

"Hey, back off, bud!" he warned. "You're creeping me out!"

"I'm-I'm sorry," Leonardo softly said, pulling his hand back. "It's just...you're not missing your..."

"Missing my what?!" Raph shouted, losing his patience with this stranger. "You'd better start making sense or-!"

"Raph!" Mikey stepped in between the two and lightly pushed Raph back. "Chill, will ya?"

"Chill?! Mikey, we don't even know _what_ he is!" Raph argued, pointing over Mikey's shoulder at Leonardo. "He could be a shape-shifting Kraang thing or-or something!"

"Dude, if he was Kraang monster, I'd know," Mikey smugly said. "I was right about the Mom-thing, wasn't I?"

Raph rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath.

"I'm sorry," Mikey teased, gesturing for Raph to speak up. "I didn't hear you."

The hothead groaned and shook his head. "I said, yeah, you were right," he quickly mumbled.

"Finally!" Mikey raised his hands in the air. "You admit it! Took you long- _Eep!_ "

Leonardo suddenly wrapped his arms around Mikey and pulled him close, burying his face in the back of Mikey's shell.

"HEY!" Raph's protective instincts kicked in and he pulled out his twin sai. "Let him go!"

Leo stepped in and grabbed Raph's wrist. "Raph, wait! It's okay."

Raph was about to retort and pointed at the larger Turtle that was holding his little brother captive. "But he's-!"

"Raph," Leo gently but sternly said, "it's okay." He glanced over at the two Turtles and nodded at them. "See?"

Raph turned back to them and watched as Leonardo affectionately nuzzled Mikey's shell with his beak. The hothead was stunned to see tears spilling out of his eyes.

Mikey looked over at Raph and shrugged with a crooked grin. He was just as confused as his brother was, but he didn't feel like he was in any danger. In fact, it was kinda touching. But a little bit too touchy feely. He peeked over his shoulder at Leonardo, who rested his cheek on his carapace. "Um...?"

Leonardo sniffled and dried his eyes with the back of his hand, smiling sadly at Mikey. "I'm sorry, Mikey. It's just...it's just so good to see you again."

"Again?" Mikey titled his head as he turned around to fully face him. "Where did I go?"

The older Turtle only looked at him with wet, loving eyes and affectionately rubbed his hand up and down Mikey's arm. He savored this moment and didn't want to let go of his little brother in fear of losing him all over again. The last time he ever touched Mikey was during the funeral thirty years ago, and his skin felt so cold.

But this Mikey was still alive, and he felt so warm that it melted his heart and he felt like crying all over. It had been so long...too long...!

"So you're supposed to be me?" Younger Leo's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

He let go of Mikey and cleared his throat. "Ahem, yes," he said. "About thirty years from now."

The younger Turtles all gasped at the shocking revelation.

"So you're from the future?!" Mikey asked excitedly, his eyes enlarged and sparkling. "That's AWESOME! It all makes sense now! The wrinkles, the deep voice, the snake symbol! You're a superhero, aren't you?!"

Leonardo chuckled softly and patted the dome of Mikey's head. "No, I'm not a hero, Little Brother." There was a bit of sadness in his eyes for a moment as he lowered them to the floor. "Far from it."

"Then what's with the tattoo?" Raph asked, still skeptical about all this. "And the black clothing? Are you Karai's sidekick or something?"

"No, I'm a loner. I do fight crime but...I'm not really a ninja anymore. Everyone calls me the Serpent."

"Serpent?" Donnie raised an eye ridge at him. "Well, that's exactly what I call original, but it does have a nice ring to it."

"Yeah, it's a cool name!" Mikey made a scary face and a hissing sound, wiggling his fingers in a spookily manner. "Leonardo the SSSSSSerpent!"

"Okay, 'Serpent'," Raph crossed his arms and took a step forward, "if you're from the future, then how'd you end up in this time?"

Leonardo sighed and shook his head. "I'm...not sure. My memory's a bit hazy." He winced as he touched the head wound. "The last thing I remember is fighting the Shredder."

Leo's eyes widened in shock and fear. "The Shredder? You mean he's still alive?"

"Did...did someone turn him into a zombie or something?" Mikey shuddered.

Donnie rolled his eyes. "Mikey, we've been through this before: zombies don't exist."

"It could happen!" the freckled Turtle insisted. "Comic books don't lie, man!"

"It's not Oroku Saki," Leonardo explained. "He died years before this new Shredder appeared. I was the one who finished him after he-" He paused and closed his eyes painfully, unable to finish his sentence.

"After he killed Splinter, right?" Leo finished for him.

Leonardo looked at him a bit surprised. "Splinter? No, he-wait...you mean that Master Splinter is dead?"

The younger Turtles remained silent but bowed their heads in sorrow. Mikey sniffled and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

But Donnie quickly snapped out of his grief. "Hold on, you mean Splinter is still alive in your timeline?"

Leonardo shook his head. "No, he died of a heart attack a couple of months ago."

Leo couldn't help but notice how casually the future Turtle said that, with little to no emotion in his voice. It was as if he wasn't at all saddened by his father's death, which struck Leo as very weird and very disturbing. "But the Shredder didn't kill him?" he asked, to which the older version responded by shaking his head.

"So you're actually from an alternate timeline," Donnie concluded. "Not from _our_ future."

"I guess so," Leonardo mumbled as he laid back down on the table, shielding his eyes from the ceiling light with his arm. "I'm just...so tired." A loud grumbling noise erupted from his stomach and he blushed from embarrassment. "Heh, and a bit hungry."

"No problem, big bro!" Mikey chirped. "I can whip you up something! Michelangelo style!"

* * *

Later in the kitchen, Mikey made jellybean and chocolate chip pizza for Older Leonardo, and to Raph, Leo, and Donnie's surprise, he practically devoured it within three minutes. He acted as though he hadn't eaten in days, which greatly concerned the young cook. He held back a burp and cleaned his mouth with a napkin before looking at Mikey with a fond smile.

"Thanks, Mikey," he said. "I really missed your cooking."

Mikey frowned. "If I don't cook for you, then who does?"

"No one," Leonardo said as he reached over to pat Mikey's shoulder. "I cook for myself. But it's nowhere near as good as yours."

"You know," Mikey scooted closer to him, "you never said what happened to me." He looked up at him with pleading eyes and rested his chin on the older Turtle's arm. "Was it something bad?"

Leonardo looked straight into those eyes and then turned his head away, biting his lower lip. He couldn't tell Mikey. It would not only be a shock to him, but it would also devastate him to know that he was sliced to death by Shredder and that his family separated after his funeral, not even speaking to each other for thirty years. Sucking in a deep breath, he looked back down at Mikey and forced a smile, tenderly stroking his little brother's head. "No, Mikey," he lied. "Nothing bad happened to you. It's just...we each went our separate ways, and we've haven't seen each other in years."

"Oh," Mikey softly said, looking a little bit disheartened. "That's too bad. We were supposed to stay together no matter what."

"Hey," Leonardo gently lifted Mikey's chin, "that happened in my timeline, not yours. So there's still a chance that you'll have a much happier future."

This seemed to have cheered Mikey up and he smiled at his older brother. God, how he missed that beautiful, bright smile. Like a light in this dark, hopeless world, and when Mikey died, he took that light with him, leaving his brothers in complete darkness. To see that smile again warmed Leonardo's heart and he couldn't refrain himself from hugging Mikey again.

 _Wow, he's quite the hugger,_ Mikey thought as he wrapped his arms around Leonardo and hugged him back.

While the scene was touching, it was also a little too weird for Leo and his two younger brothers. And something told the leader that his future self lied about Mikey's fate.

 **This will be a three-parter! Next chapter Leonardo will practice with his younger bros and younger self in the dojo (and kick their butts, LOL). And Leonardo will take Leo on his first "hunt"...and you know what that implies...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello.**

 **(Sighs)**

 **Well, I just learned that my Dad died from a massive heart attack.**

 **Yeah.**

 **I am devastated and so is my family. I won't post stories for a while. Probably won't be until next month when I come back.**

 **Please pray for me and my family. And thank you for all your support.**

 **God Bless.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Under the advice of my Mom, I am resuming my fanfiction writing. It'll do me some good as well as not keep you wonderful readers waiting.**

 **Y** **ou all have been so good to me, it's amazing. It's reviewers like you who prove that there is still some good in this twisted, dark world. It's been a horrible week. The most horrible one yet, but at least I have one more guardian angel looking down on me.**

 **Thank you and I love you all.**

 **Here's part 2!**

 **NOTE: There will probably be grammar mistakes which I will fix later.**

"I just spoke with Bishop," Donnie announced to the group of Turtles as he walked into the living room. Mikey sat next to Leonardo on the couch while Raph sat on a beanie bag with Chompy in his lap. Leo remained standing, keeping a close eye on his future self.

"He's a little busy right now, but he said he'll help us find future Leo's dimension." Donnie looked directly over at Leonardo and gave him a nod. "You'll be home soon."

Leonardo smirked and sighed softly. "Take all the time you need. I'm in no hurry getting back to my dimension."

Mikey tilted his head in confusion. "But don't you _wanna_ go back home?"

Leonardo looked down at Mikey, giving him a sad smile. "Well, there's not much of a home to go back to. I already told you that my family is broken."

"Well, then get them back together!" Mikey insisted, waving his hands dramatically.

"I wish it were that simple, Mikey," Leonardo stroked the dome of the younger Turtle's head. "But it's...complicated."

"Bro, nothing's too complicated for our family to handle," Mikey playfully nudged Leonardo's shoulder. "I'm pretty sure my future self would agree."

Leonardo sucked in a deep breath and covered his face with the crook of his arm, willing himself not to break down into tears. Oh, if only he could tell his little brother the truth. But he couldn't do that to him. He felt Mikey gently tap his shoulder.

"Uh, Bro?"

Leonardo whipped his head round and cleared his throat, hoping that his eyes weren't showing any tears. "You're right, Mikey," he said in a slightly cracked voice. "You're absolutely right."

Again, young Leo felt like Leonardo was keeping something from them. And he had this dreadful feeling in the pit of his stomach that it had something to do with Mikey's alternate future self, which was why he was treating the freckled Turtle with such compassion and tenderness.

His eyelids were growing heavy and he was struggling to stay awake. He looked up at the clock on the wall and realized that it was now past one in the morning. "It's getting pretty late," he announced, releasing a yawn. "We should all get some sleep." He turned to Leonardo and gestured at the couch. "You're more than welcome to sleep here in the living room."

"Or you could sleep on the floor next to my bed!" Mikey offered. This earned him several confused looks. "What? It'll be like a sleepover! Plus we have an extra mattress so he could be comfortable."

Leonardo chuckled softly. "Actually, I think I'd prefer to sleep in Mikey's room."

Excluding Mikey, who was ecstatic, the younger Turtles stared at him in shock.

"Um, I know it's been thirty years since you've been in Mikey's room," Donnie said, "so you probably don't remember just how...messy it is."

"Hey!" Mikey glared at him and stuck his tongue out.

"It's okay, Donnie," Leonardo said with a chuckle. "I don't mind."

* * *

 _"I choose Michelangelo," Splinter whispered with his head bowed._

 _Leo screamed and pleaded with his brothers as Super Shredder stood over Mikey, extending his blades. "MIKEY, NO! NO! NO!" He struggled with all his might to break free from Tiger Claw's grasp._

 _Mikey wasn't afraid, though. He was so at peace that it was surreal. "Guys, guys," he said softly. "It's okay. I_ want _Sensei to choose me. Please don't hate him for this."_

 _Leo felt hot tears slide down his cheeks. "But...but Mikey...you-you can't do this to us."_

 _Mikey gave his brothers one last smile. "Bye, guys. I love..." He was cut off when Shredder slashed him across the face. Then the monster slashed him again. And again. And again._

 _..._

" ** _NOOOOO...!_** " Leo screamed as he sat up in his bed, his eyes burning and his cheeks hot from crying. He breathed heavily as he looked at his surroundings, calming down a bit upon realizing that it was all just a horrible dream.

 _But it...it felt so real...I need tea._

After a few minutes of catching his breath and drying his tears, he got out of bed and dragged himself into the kitchen. A cup of father's special herbal tea always soothed his nerves after a nightmare.

As he poured the steaming hot drink into a cup, he heard heavy footsteps walk into the kitchen and without even turning around he instantly knew who it was. "Raph, what are you doing up?"

"Had to take a leak," Raph grumbled tiredly. "What are _you_ doing up?"

"Another nightmare," Leo softly said as he sat down at the table and took a sip of his tea. Raph sat down next to him and let out a heavy sigh, resting his chin on his folded arms.

"About Splinter again?" Raph asked.

Leo shook his head. "No, about Mikey."

Raph raised his head up in alarm. "Mikey?"

"Yeah, it was so weird," Leo looked down at his reflection in the tea. "Shredder captured us all and Splinter was forced to choose who would die. He had to sacrifice either Mikey or Karai, or else Saki would kill everyone."

Raph's eyes widened. "And so he chose Mikey?" he whispered.

Leo could only close his eyes and nod his head slowly.

Raph cleared his throats and gave Leo's shell a comforting pat. "Well, it was just a dream, alright? I mean, it would never happen anyway since Shredder is gone...as well as Master Splinter," he mumbled the last part sadly. "Besides, Splinter would never have sacrificed Mikey or any of us. No matter what."

Leo set his cup down and looked directly into Raph's eyes. "Wouldn't he?"

Raph backed up a bit, disturbed by Leo's question. "Leo, why are you talking like that? Look, it was just a stupid dream! It didn't mean anything!"

"But Sensei once told me that sometimes we have to make the most difficult decisions in the battlefield, even sacrificing someone."

Raph's irritation melted away and was replaced with utter shock.

"And remember when the Triceratrons invaded Earth," Leo continued, "and Sensei said that destroying the black hole generator was more important than rescuing Mikey?"

"Y-Yeah, but," Raph stuttered, "he-he let us go rescue Mikey anyway! He even teamed up with Shredder to stop the Triceratrons! Leo, you're letting this dream mess with your head!"

"That's not the only thing that's bothering me, Raph," Leo said. "That dream...it just felt, you know...real. Too real, in fact. It felt more like a...memory."

"Memory?" Raph raised an eye ridge. Then it dawned on him. "Wait, you think maybe it has something to do with... _him_?"

Leo looked over in the direction of Mikey's bedroom. "I'm thinking it could be. He _is_ me, after all. Us being brought together must've triggered something. We might have some kind of link."

"You still don't trust him, do you?" Raph quietly asked him.

The leader sighed heavily and shook his head. "No. There's just something about him that isn't right. Every time I'm near him, my heart gets this, I don't know, chill or something."

"Hey," Raph put a hand on his brother's shoulder, "I know what you mean, bro. I feel the exact same way whenever I'm around him. He gives me the creeps."

"Yeah, but at the same time he's so gentle toward Mikey," Leo said. "I have this feeling that it had something to do with happened to _his_ Mikey. And maybe, what happened in my dream was what happened in his world."

Raph grunted and nodded his head. "Makes sense." Then he gave Leo's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "But listen, Leo, Father loved all of us. There was nothing in this world more special to him than his children. We don't know anything about that Leonardo's Splinter, but we do know that ours loved us with all his heart. Never doubt that."

The corners of Leo's mouth slowly lifted into a smile and he placed his hand over Raph's. "Thanks, Raph."

...

Lying on the spare mattress and staring up at the ceiling, Leonardo felt his heart clench as he listened in on Leo and Raph's conversation. Even though they spoke very softly and were in the kitchen, the older Turtle's ears could still pick up even the faintest of sounds and he heard every single word.

He turned to the side and stared up at Mikey, who was sound asleep in his bed, hugging his teddy close and letting out bubbly snores. He smiled fondly at his little brother before frowning and turning his attention to the ceiling again.

He wanted more than anything to stay in this world, but he knew that he could never belong.

* * *

The next morning, as Mikey, Donnie, Leonardo, and Raph all watched T.V together in the living room, Leo stepped in and stood in front of the screen, blocking their view.

"Hey, move it!" Raph angrily waved at him to move aside. "We're just getting to the good part!"

Leo sternly crossed his arms. "Time for training in the dojo."

"Awwwwwww, c'mon, Leo!" Mikey whined. "Can't we train after the show?"

"Yeah, Charles is about to confront Wendy about her secret affair with Bernard!" Donnie said.

"Nope," Leo shook his head then pointed in the direction of the dojo. "Get off your butts and report to the dojo now."

Mikey and Donnie grumbled as they reluctantly got off the couch. Raph was the last to leave, but he stopped for a moment to bowed dramatically to his new Sensei. "As you command, O Ninja Queen!" he mocked before he stomped toward the dojo.

Leonardo chuckled while Leo's face got beet red.

...

The future Turtle watched as the young ninjas practiced their skills in combat. It had been so long since he practiced with his brothers. Leo remained focused as usual. Raph was getting frustrated that he kept getting hit while he couldn't land a single blow. Donnie was calculating and thinking of a new strategy, while Mikey was goofing around like he always did.

Leonardo grinned to himself as he stood up and cleared his throats loud enough for the others to hear. The younger Turtles immediately stopped and looked at him.

"If you don't mind," Leonardo bowed in respect, "I'd like to train with you."

The Turtles looked at one another, but they most looked at their, waiting for his response. Leo shrugged his shoulders and grinned. "I don't see why not." But he was thinking, _He's allowed to train with us, but should he hurt any of you, I won't hesitate to take him down._

Leonardo smiled gratefully at him and walked toward the center of the dojo, drawing his weapons out.

"I'm looking forward to kicking your butt, Leo," Raph said as he twirled his twin sai, a cocky grin on his face.

"Wait, which Leo are you referring to?" Mikey asked.

Leo raised his swords in the air before swinging them down as he yelled, "Hajime!"

Instantly all five Turtles charged at each other. But before Donnie could hit Leonardo with his staff, the future Turtle blocked his attack and knocked him off his feet within two seconds. Seeing how badass future Leo was, Raph decided to take a shot at him. He charged at the older Turtle and attacked him with full force. Surprisingly, Leonardo dodged and blocked every blow and kick with such ease. Eventually, Leonardo knocked the sai out of his hands and sent him flying across the room with one kick.

Only Leo and Mikey were left standing, and Leonardo grinned at them, motioning for them to come. Leo charged at him first and the two swordsmen clashed. Although he lasted longer than Raph and Donnie, he was just as trouble keeping up with the faster and stronger Turtle. Although Leonardo mentioned that he was no longer a ninja, his excellent swordsmanship and incrediblr reflexes proved that he was just as skilled as Master Splinter, maybe even better.

Finally, Leonardo knocked one of Leo swords out of his hand. Leo yelped as he stumbled backwards before he was kicked in the plastron and fell to the floor.

"Wow, even Leo was no match for himself," Raph whispered to Donnie.

Now being the only Turtle left, Mikey whooped as he leapt at Leonardo, twirling his nunchucks. As he did with the others, the future Turtle blocked and dodged each attack. But when he accidentally stepped on Mikey's foot, the younger Turtle yelped and grabbed his foot, hopping on the other.

"Ow!" Mikey whined. "Dude!"

Immediately, Leonardo dropped his swords and ran toward him, a worried look on his face. "Mikey! I'm so sor-!"

Suddenly, Mikey grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his shell. He then jumped onto Leonardo's plastron and pinned him to the floor, a victorious grin on his face. "Oh, yeah! You just got punked, son!"

Instead of being angry, Leonardo merely chuckled and gave Mikey a thumbs up. "Yeah, you got me. Good job, little brother."

Mikey beamed at the praise that he had just received, while Raph rolled his eyes and Donnie pouted, feeling a little jealous that he couldn't beat Leonardo but Mikey could. Leo was touched and he smiled at the scene before him. But he still had a feeling that there was more to Leonardo than meets the eye.

* * *

"And you remember this, don't you?" Mikey handed Leonardo another photograph. They sat on the floor together, looking through photos that Mikey had stored in a tin box under his bed.

Leonardo smiled at the photo of him and Mikey, their faces completely covered in specks of chocolate. "Heh, of course. You were showing me how to make chocolate bowls. Of course, you were supposed to wait until _after_ the chocolate had cooled down before you dip the balloon into the pot."

Mikey blushed from embarrassment. "Yeah, and boy, did that balloon pop. I thought Sensei was going to kill us for making a big mess. Good thing he found it hilarious!" He giggled as he took out another photo. This one was a snapshot of his whole family, smiling and holding one another in a hug group. He frowned and looked up at Leonardo. "Hey, bro? Can you promise me something?"

Leonardo placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder and smiled warmly at him. "Of course, Mikey. I'll do anything for you."

"When you get back to your dimension," Mikey looked straight into Leonardo's eyes, "will you do everything you can to bring our family back together?"

Leonardo's smile dropped and he pulled his hand away, stunned by this request. "Mikey, I-"

They both jumped at the loud knocking at Mikey's door. "Hey, you guys!" Donnie's voice called out. "Bishop's here!"

Mikey smiled widely and excitedly shook Leonardo. "Hear that, bro? You get to go home!" He jumped to his feet and sprinted toward the door, but stopped when he noticed Leonardo still sitting on the floor. "You coming, Leo?"

Leonardo smiled and gestured for him to go on. "I'll be there in a minute."

Mikey nodded and reached for the door knob.

"And Mikey..."

Said Turtle turned around and waited for Leonardo to continue. But the future Turtle seemed to have trouble speaking, as though the words were stuck in his throat. He eventually cleared his throat and gave him a pained smile.

"You're amazing," he softly said. "You know that, right?"

Mikey looked at him confused before he smiled widely, nodding his head. "Yeah, I know I'm awesome." Then he walked out of the bedroom, leaving Leonardo alone with the photographs.

...

"I apologize that I could not arrive sooner," Bishop said in a monotone voice, greeting everyone in the living room with a nod. "Utrom business."

"Whatever," Raph huffed, leaning against the wall. "So you can take future Leo back to his dimension, right?"

"Yes," Bishop said. "But he needs to come with me to Dimension X." He held up a breather collar in his hand. "So where is he?"

Mikey walked into the room, and Leo noticed that Leonardo wasn't with him. "Mikey, where's future Leo?"

Mikey looked back over his shoulder and shrugged. "He's still in my room, I guess. He said he'd come out in a minute."

Leo sighed exasperatedly. "Fine. We'll give him two more minutes, then I'm dragging him out of there."

"Come on, guys," Mikey said with a saddened expression. "Why are you so hard on him? He's techincally part of the family."

"You may not have noticed, Mikey," Raph said in a serious tone, "but there's something...off about him."

"So?" Mikey defended. "That doesn't give you guys the right to act like total jerks."

Leo stepped forward and placed his hands on Mikey's shoulders. "Mikey," he softly said, "he doesn't belong in this world. He needs to go back to his own. And I don't trust him. Don't ask me why not, 'cause...I don't know. I just have this feeling. And I only want to protect you guys. If he really is dangerous, I don't want any of you to get hurt. You understand?"

Mikey sighed softly and looked down at the floor, nodding his head.

Leo smiled and patted his head. "Good. I'm going to get him now." He then turned to Bishop. "Go ahead and get the transporter ready, Bishop." The Utrom nodded.

He approached the door to Mikey's bedroom and knocked softly. "Leonardo? It's time to go." When there was no response, he knocked again, only harder. "Leonardo?" Still no response, he opened the door and to his shock, the future Turtle wasn't in the room.

...

The folds of his black mask flowed in the chilling wind as he looked down at the streets below him. He knelt in the ledge and leaned against a grotesque gargoyle, which was snarling with his massive teeth. It was as if the stone beast was watching over the city, scaring away the evil that plagued the rest of the world.

Leonardo felt like a gargoyle himself, a protector and a monster, though he wish he were made of stone as well. If he was, he wouldn't be feeling the pain and loneliness that he felt for years after Mikey's death. Perhaps he should just jump and end it all right now. There was no way he was going back to that hellhole he called "home", and he didn't belong in this world. He belonged nowhere.

He stood up and slowly took a step forward, staring numbly at the horizon...

Then he heard someone land onto the building from behind him. He swiftly turned around and saw his younger self glaring him.

"Why did you run off like that?" Leo asked him angrily.

Leonardo looked at him sadly and stepped away from the ledge. "I'm sorry," he quietly said, staring at the concrete floor. "It's just...I'm not ready to go back."

"Why not?" Leo demanded, crossing his arms.

For a moment, Leonardo just continued to look down at his feet. He seemed to be in deep thought, and Leo was about to repeat his question when the older Turtle looked up at him with a grim expression.

"Leo," he said sternly, "are you willing to do anything to protect your family?"

Leo was taken back by this. "I, uh," he stammered, "y-yeah, of course,"

"Even if you have to take someone's life?"

A chill went down Leo's spine at that moment. "W-What...?"

Leonardo narrowed his eyes. "Would you?"

"...I'd...rather not resort to...doing such a thing...but yeah, if I had no other choice, I would."

A grim formed on Leonardo's lips, though it seemed predatory from Leo's perspective, and he was now officially, genuinely afraid of his future self.

"Well, then," Leonardo said, "let's go hunting."

"Hunting?" Leo nervously asked. He didn't like the sound of that at all.

 **Uh-oh...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here we are! Last chapter! Keep in mind that this is a "what if" story.**

 **WARNING: Disturbing content included in this chapter.**

 **NOTE: There will probably be grammar mistakes which I will fix later.**

 _Mikey,_

 _I know you depended on me to bring our family back together, but I can't._

 _Please understand. After the Shredder killed you in my timeline (yes, I lied to you and I'm sorry), I became so bitter and angry that I left Raph and Donnie behind to avenge your death. In doing so, I let our family fall apart, even though it was my job to keep it together. I figured that without you, it just wouldn't work. There was no point in me staying._

 _I now see that I was wrong._

* * *

"Come on, man! Hurry up!"

A couple of rookie robbers, none of them older than twenty and wearing ski masks, hastily gathered up as many jewels as they could before they rushed out of the recently broken-in store. One of them, the driver of their van, stepped on the gas pedal as soon as they hopped in. The vehicle screeched as it sped away, zooming past two figures that hid in an alley and watch the whole event from the shadows. They both stepped out, revealing themselves to be Leo and Leonardo.

Leo scratched his head and looked up at Leonardo confused. "This is your idea of a hunt? Chasing after jewelry thieves?"

Leonardo glanced over his shoulder at his younger counterpart and smirked teasingly. "What's the matter? Not exciting enough for you?"

"Well, I mean," Leo shrugged his shoulders, "I don't mind going after ordinary criminals, but I think we should just leave this one to the cops. My brothers and I mainly handle mutants and more dangers enemies."

Leonardo seemed displeased and the smirk dropped into a frown. "No criminal should be allowed to wander the streets, no matter how 'ordinary' they may be," he said in a serious tone before he sprinted down the street at an incredible speed.

"H-Hey, wait up!" Leo ran after the future Turtle, though it was difficult for him to catch up with him. The entire time they ran and jumped across rooftops, Leo thought about how serious Leonardo was about this job. In fact, he was a little too serious.

* * *

 _But it's far too late to fix things between us. And even if there was a chance, I'm not the person to do it._

 _Mikey, I've done terrible things the last thirty years. My hands are dirty with the blood of criminals that I killed in honor of my dead little brother. Yes, as horrible and sick as that sounds, I did it all for you._

 _I'm sorry._

 _I know that it's wrong to kill, and I know that I need to stop, but I've dug myself a hole that I cannot get out of. I'm in too deep, and no one can pull me out. Not even you._

* * *

"Can't believe we pulled this off!" the driver laughed along with his pals as they continued to tear through the streets.

One of the robbers pulled his mask off, revealing his spiky blonde hair. "I know, right? And those Purple Dragon losers said we couldn't!"

"Yeah, well," another young man with shoulder-length brown hair chuckled, "the Skull Bros are the new rulers of New York!"

They all cheered and high-fived each other when all of a sudden a loud explosion was heard and the van started to bounce and swerve a bit. They all yelled in surprise and the driver quickly pulled the vehicle over to the sidewalk.

"Dude, what the f**k?!" a guy with a crew cut shouted to the driver.

"We must've had a blowout," the driver said as he opened his door. "I'll go out and have a look." He walked around the vehicle, inspecting it, when he noticed that his front right tire had something sharp embedded in it. He leaned in closer and realized that the object was one of those shurikens that ninjas use in battle. "What the heck...?" he tapped one of the sharp edges lightly with his fingertip.

Then he heard someone clear his throat from behind him.

He swiftly turned his head and saw two mutant Turtles standing in the street, both of them carrying twin katanas. The shorter of the two wore a blue ninja mask, and the other one wore black. The young driver had heard stories about a group of Ninja Turtles that fought crime and defeated even the deadliest of gangs in all of New York. He immediately knew that he and his pals were in trouble and began to bang loudly on side of the van.

"Yo! Get outta the van! We got company!"

The backdoors of the van swung open and the other robbers all gasped at the sight of the Turtles. They grabbed their bags of jewelry, hopped out of the vehicle and all five of them scattered, including the driver.

"Oh, so that's how you want to do it?" Leonardo chuckled rather maliciously, drawing out his swords.

Leo instantly got a bad vibe but drew out his own swords as well. "You...you won't hurt them, right?" he nervously asked the future Turtle.

But Leonardo ignored him and charged after three of the robbers. Leo hesitated before he went after the other two. He chased them into an alley and had them cornered to a wall. The blonde robber pulled a handgun from out of the pocket of his leather coat and aimed it at the Turtle. His partner, the crew cut guy, looked at him as though he was nuts.

"Hey, man, what are you doing?!" he whispered harshly to him.

The blonde guy ignored him. "St-Stay back!" he nervously ordered Leo, the weapon shaking in his hands.

The leader in blue looked at the gun for a moment before he smiled crookedly, shaking his head. "That's not even a real gun, is it?"

The blonde robber's blue eyes widened in shock, but he refused to lower the weapon nor answer the Turtle's question.

The crew cut robber, however, nodded and snatched the gun out of his partner's hands. "Y-Yeah, man, look! See? It's just a squirt gun!" He pulled the trigger and water squirted from out of the hole. "We-We would never shoot anyone!"

"Oh, nice going, Roy," the blonde guy growled.

"Shut up, Jayce!" Roy spat, tossing the toy gun aside. "We're already in enough trouble!"

Leo sighed and walked toward the duo, who immediately began to back up in fear. "Look," he softly said, "just go home, alright? Clearly, this isn't the life you guys want to lead."

The robbers stared at the Turtle in surprise. They expected him to beat them up or at least turn them in to the authorities instead of calmly telling them to go home.

Roy, the crew cut robber, sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, you're right," he mumbled. "I dunno what we were thinking. Come on, Jayce, let's go." The two walked out of the alley and down the street. Leo watched them leave and hoped that they would change their ways before he went to go look for his future self.

* * *

 _It would be better for everyone in both worlds if I were to disappear. I hope you can forgive me one day, Mikey._

 _Please don't ever stop smiling. Continue to shine brighter than even the sun. Live a long, happy life._

 _I love you. Always._

 _-Leo_

* * *

"Leonardo!" He somehow felt the other Turtle closeby, another possible side effect of them being brought together in the same dimension. He was eventually led to the docks and saw Leonardo in the distance, staring at the ocean.

"Hey, Leonardo!" Leo started to run toward him. "I took care of the other two robbers! How's it going on your-"

He slowed down when he noticed that Leonardo was standing over what appeared to be a body and was holding something in his hand. His stomach churned when he saw the blood splatters all over the floor. It looked like a massacre took place here.

 _Oh, god...don't tell me..._ "Le...Leonardo...?"

The Turtle from the future slowly turned and looked at him with dull blue eyes. The corners of his mouth slightly lifted into a small smile. "You got 'em?" he quietly said. "Good. I'm finished with these guys." He lifted his arm and showed Leo what he was holding.

Leo's mouth opened into a silent scream as he realized that Leonardo was holding the head of one of the robbers by his long brown hair. He clamped a hand over his mouth and held his stomach as he forced himself not to puke.

He looked over Leonardo's shoulder and to his horror, the driver and the other robber were lying face down on the ground, dead.

It felt like an eternity before Leo finally found the courage to speak. "Wh...What you done...?" he whispered.

Leonardo raised an eye ridge and even tilted his head a bit. "What does it look like? I just rid the world of three more scumbags." He carelessly tossed the head into the waters like it was garbage. He turned back to Leo, an eerily calm look on his face. "This is how justice is done."

Stunned and utterly horrified, Leo nearly stumbled backwards. "Justice?" he asked incredulously. "You call _this_ justice? Those guys you just killed...they were just scared and confused kids! I-I mean, they used toy guns, for god's sake! They weren't even real!"

Leonardo merely scoffed. "Toy guns for now. But had I let them live, they probably would've used real guns next time, and someone could've gotten hurt or worse."

"You're...you're crazy!" Leo pointed a finger at him. "How can you be so cruel? This isn't the path Master Splinter wanted us to-"

"TO HELL WITH SPLINTER!" Leonardo yelled furiously, glaring at Leo with angry white eyes.

Leo was taken back by Leonardo's sudden outburst and instantly shut up. Leonardo regained his composure and sucked in a deep breath, the midnight blue irises returning.

"You remember that nightmare you had last night?" he calmly asked the younger Turtle, who only nodded in response. "Well, you were right, it was a memory. MY memory. In my world, Splinter sacrificed Mikey so that his daughter would live."

At that moment, Leo's worst fears were proven to be true. "So your Mikey really is dead?"

Leonardo nodded. "And so is Hamato Leonardo. He died thirty years ago. I am the Serpent now." He traced his fingers over the snake tattoo on his plastron. "I hunt down those who break the law and persecute the innocent. All the codes and morals that Splinter taught us mean nothing to me now. Empty words. That's all they ever were."

Hearing him speak of Splinter so disrespectfully greatly angered Leo. "Don't you ever," he hissed, " _ever_ talk about my father that way. I don't know what happened in your world, but _my_ Splinter was an honorable man. And I will always hold his teachings dear to my heart."

Leonardo scoffed and looked back at the horizon. "You feel that way now, but sooner or later you'll realize the truth."

Leo raised an eye ridge. "What truth?"

The future Turtle glanced over at him with a look in his eyes that sent a shiver down Leo's spine. "That 'noble' heroes such as Splinter never get the job done. Think about it. Splinter always held back, even while he was facing his greatest adversary, the Shredder. And look where _that_ got him. In the end, you had to kill Saki in order to ensure the safety of your family, correct?"

"I...yes," Leo hesitantly admitted.

"So you see? As long as there are scumbags in this world, no one is safe. Mikey died because we hesitated. But I'm never going to hesitate again. And if you want to protect your Mikey, then neither should you."

"So you're saying I should become a killer, too?" Leo glared at his future self, pointing an accusing finger at him. "That I should stoop to their level? No way. Never."

Leonardo had what appeared to be a look of disgust on his face and he crossed his arms. "Then one day you'll lose all of them, and there will be no one else to blame but yourself. You're too weak and naive to lead the team." A smirk formed on his lips. "Besides, you're already on the path to becoming like me. When you sliced Saki's head clean off his shoulders, you felt an exhilaration, didn't you? Something awakened inside of you, a whole other side that you've been trying to hold back."

He slowly approached Leo and stood omniously over him, his midnight blue eyes staring straight into the other's. "Face reality, Leo," he said in a chilling voice. "It's your destiny to become me."

Leo shook his head in denial and stepped away from the older Turtle. "No...NO! I won't become you!" He pulled his T-phone out and pushed the button to pull up Donnie's number. "And you're going back to your dimension right now," he growled.

He put the phone to his ear and Donnie's voice spoke on the other line.

 _Leo?_

"Hey, I found him. We're at the-"

Suddenly the phone was snatched out of his hand and he turned to see Leonardo holding it. The future Turtle glared at him.

"I am never going back," he whispered venomously. "I'll die first." He dropped the phone and then completely shattered it with his foot.

Leo knew that he was in danger now.

* * *

"Leo? Leo?!" Donnie pulled the phone away from his ear and read the screen. The signal was lost, which wasn't a good sign.

"Guys," the conceren Turtle turned to Raph and Bishop, "I've lost him. He's not answering."

Raph grunted in frustration and punched the wall. "I knew we couldn't trust that guy! That's it! We gotta go look for them before Leo gets hurt!"

"It's not our Leo we should be worrying about."

They all turned to see Mikey walking into the living room. There were tears in his light blue eyes. "I just found this," he said in an unnaturally quiet voice. In his hand was the photograph of him and Leo covered in chocolate. He held it up for everyone to see and then flipped it over, revealing a note written on the back.

* * *

"Are you crazy?!" Leo shouted, staring at the remains of his phone.

"I'm not going back to that dimension," Leonardo reaffirmed.

"So you're going to stay in this one?!" Leo angrily shook his head. "You can't do that!"

"Apparently I have to," Leonardo retorted. "You obviously can't protect your family, so I will. I'll eliminate our enemies whenever you can't."

Leo's eyes turned white with determination and he reached behind his shell for his swords. "I won't let you," he growled. He drew out his weapons and pointed them at the older Turtle.

Leonardo snickered, amused by the younger Turtle's foolishness. "Oh, you're not actually thinking about fighting me, are you? Have you forgotten that I kicked your butt in the dojo?"

Leo refused to back down. "I won't lose this time."

The future Turtle smirked and drew out his swords, too. Although he wasn't going to kill his youngest counterpart, he was certainly going to put him in his place. "All right, then. I'll humor you." He gestured with a wave of his sword for Leo to come at him.

Leo roared as he charges at Leonardo and the two clashed swords. But even though Leo was giving his all, he couldn't help but feel that Leonardo was holding back. Even fact, judging by the smirk on the older Turtle's face, he was merely toying with him.

This infuriated Leo even further and he fought more viciously, growling as he swung his sword wildly at Leonardo. The older Turtle blocked every attack with ease, and he wasn't even breaking a sweat. Leo, on the other hand, was getting more tired by the minute.

Future Leonardo seemed unbeatable, but Leo absolutely refused to give up. The guy was not only dangerous, but insane as well, and there was no way that Leo was going to let him near his family.

But then all of a sudden Leonardo dashed right past Leo, who instantly felt a burning sensation on his shoulder. The younger Turtle yelled in pain, dropping a sword and gripping his wound. He looked down and saw a rather deep cut, the deepest one he ever had in fact. Blood was flowing out of it like a river, and if he didn't get treated soon, he could pass out.

"I could've easily sliced you right in half," he heard Leonardo cooly say. "That was a warning cut."

Leo hissed both in pain and anger, and his grip on the sword tightened. No, he wasn't going to give up now. He charged at the future Turtle again, roaring in defiance. Leonardo was shocked by the younger Turtle's determination and he almost dropped his guard. Just for a split second though. He could fight this kid all day if he wanted to, but he knew that Leo would soon be finished.

As Leo continued to swing his sword, the blood from his arm splattered everywhere. Some of it even landed on Leonardo's plastron. That was when he got an idea.

Leo flung his arm and a bit of blood landed in Leonardo's eyes. It was enough to temporary blind him, though, and he stopped to quickly wipe his eyes. Leo used this opportunity to attack the now defenseless Turtle, and he stabbed his katana right through Leonardo's shoulder.

A look of surprise was on Leonardo's face before he screamed in pain and dropped to his knees, the blade embedded deep in his shoulder and sticking right through his shell.

Leo chuckled weakly before he collapsed to the ground, extremely weakened from the blood loss. He didn't exactly win, but he didn't lose either.

Breathing heavily and shakily, Leonardo looked directly at Leo. "Wh-Why can't you see what I'm-I'm trying to do...?" he weakly asked the younger Turtle, blood spilling down his plastron and onto the ground. "I just...want to protect my brothers..." Tears started to form in his eyes. "To keep Mikey...from dying..."

Leo instantly felt sympathy for the other Turtle, remembering that this was himself from the future. They both wanted to protect their families, but Leonardo failed to protect his. All he wanted to do was to make sure that Leo wouldn't lose his own brothers, even if his methods were a bit extreme.

He coughed and lifted his head a bit to look at Leonardo. "I...I know. But you don't...have to worry about them. I'll protect them...I promise."

Leonardo wasn't convinced and shook his head. "You'll fail...because you're not willing...to kill for them."

Leo felt his eyelids growing heavy. "Maybe...but I know that...Mikey would rather die than...than to watch his brother...kill someone...to protect...him..." He finally closed his eyes and went into a world of darkness, the shocked look on Leonardo's face being the last thing he saw.

* * *

 _ **Beep...Beep...Beep...**_

He woke up to the sound of Donnie's machines beeping. He reached to touch his shoulder and felt bandages. He groaned as he felt a major headache coming on, which alerted Donnie.

The genius Turtle sat at his desk and turned from his laptop at the sound of Leo's groans. He ran to the operating table, checking his brother over. "Take it easy, Leo."

"What..." Leo lifted his head and groggily looked around him, "what happened to...?"

"The other Leo?" There was some sadness in Donnie's voice, which greatly worried Leo.

"Is...Is he okay?" he reluctantly asked Donnie.

Donnie said nothing and just continued to look down at him with sad auburn eyes, which said it all.

Leo closed his eyes and his chest rose as he took in a deep breath, then he let out a heavy sigh. "He's dead, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Donnie softly said.

"Was he dead when you...when you guys got there?"

"Yeah. He was lying on the ground next to you. He had one of your swords right through his chest."

Leo opened his eyes at this. "His chest? But I stabbed him in the sh-"

Then it hit him.

 _Oh, god..._

He lifted an arm and covered his face with it. "He killed himself." he croaked.

Donnie sighed and gently patted Leo on his plastron. "I figured that was what happened. Besides, Mikey found a note."

Leo removed his arm and looked over at his brother. "A note?"

The gap-toothed Turtle held up the photo and flipped it over before handing it to him. "A goodbye note."

Leo took the photo and read the note that was written on the back.

 _Mikey,_

 _I know you depended on me to bring our family back together, but I can't._

 _Please understand. After the Shredder killed you in my timeline (yes, I lied to you and I'm sorry), I became so bitter and angry that I left Raph and Donnie behind to avenge your death. In doing so, I let our family fall apart, even though it was my job to keep it together. I figured that without you, it just wouldn't work. There was no point in me staying._

 _I now see that I was wrong._

 _But it's far too late to fix things between us. And even if there was a chance, I'm not the person to do it._

 _Mikey, I've done terrible things the last thirty years. My hands are dirty with the blood of criminals that I killed in honor of my dead little brother. Yes, as horrible and sick as that sounds, I did it all for you._

 _I'm sorry._

 _I know that it's wrong to kill, and I know that I need to stop, but I've dug myself a hole that I cannot get out of. I'm in too deep, and no one can pull me out. Not even you._

 _It would be better for everyone in both worlds if I were to disappear. I hope you can forgive me one day, Mikey._

 _Please don't ever stop smiling. Continue to shine brighter than even the sun. Live a long, happy life._

 _I love you. Always._

 _-Leo_

A choked sob escaped Leo's throat as soon as he finished reading the note. Leonardo was clearly a troubled spirit, and he prayed that the future Turtle finally found the peace he had longed for.

Then he remembered his youngest brother, who instantly bonded with Leonardo the moment he arrived in their dimension. "How's...how's Mikey taking it?"

"He's traumatized," Donnie sadly said. "Raph's doing his best to comfort him, but...he can't stop crying. Leo, I-I haven't seen him this upset since Splinter's funeral."

Leo should've known. His heart broke for his little brother. How horrible it must've been for him to find his brother's body, with the knowledge that his death wasn't an accident but was, in fact, a suicide.

"I should go to him," Leo started to get up but Donnie gently pushed him back down on the table.

"Raph and I will look after him," he softly said. " _You_ need to rest for a while. You can go see Mikey later." He gave Leo one gentle pat on the plastron and fluffed his pillow before walking out of the lab.

Leo sighed and looked up numbly at the pipes on the ceiling. Leonardo's voice kept echoing in his head.

 _"Leo, are you willing to anything to protect your family? Even if you have to take someone's life?"_

 _"You're too weak and naive to lead the team."_

 _"Face reality, Leo. It's your destiny to become me."_

Leo shut his eyes and shook his head on the pillow. "No," he mumbled to himself. "Never."

* * *

Leo groaned as he slowly lifted himself off the ground, using something solid to support himself. He opened his eyes and was absolutely horrified to see Mikey's body lying next him. The wound that Jei inflicted on him was bleeding heavily.

"No!" Leo gasped. He desperately placed his fingers on Mikey's neck, feeling for a pulse. But there was none.

"No!" He closed his eyes, willing himself to wake up from this horrible nightmare. But it felt too real to be a dream.

Leo lifted his head to the heavens and screamed at the top of his lungs.

" ** _NOOOOO!_** "

The tattered ends of Raph's mask gently flowed in the wind as the mountains echoed back Leo's cry of anguish. The Warrior Turtle landed headfirst on a boulder, the impact fracturing his skull and instantly killing him. Donnie's bo staff lay on the ground snapped in half, much like the genius Turtle's spine.

Leo hugged Mikey close to him and sobbed into his little brother's limp neck.

He had failed, just as future Leonardo predicted.

Rain began to fall as he continued to weep, and he could hear Leonardo's voice in his head, taunting him.

 _"Then one day you'll lose all of them, and there will be no one else to blame but yourself."_

Then heard another voice. A voice he had grown to despise with fiber of his being.

"I sense the evil inside of you, Leonardo."

Leo's eyes became white with rage and bloodlust as he slowly lifted his face from Mikey's neck. Standing behind him, the blind, immortal wolf sneered, his long black hair flowing in the wind.

"And I will purge it," Jei announced.

He gently laid down Mikey's body and stood up, his shell still facing the wolf. He unsheathed one of his swords and then slowly turned to face his prey.

The Serpent was preparing to strike.

 **Again! This does not actually happen in my Akari story, so Leonardo is still alive!**

 **Also, we all know that Jei didn't actually kill the Turtles and it turned out to be a dream. (This happened in the episode Osoroshi No Tabi.)**

 **So let's all take a deep breath, okay?**

 **EDIT: I don't know what happened, but I fixed the chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

**KHB123 requested an epilogue for "Change Your Destiny" so I posted it here instead of "Bullets and Thorns".**

 **NOTE: There will probably be grammar mistakes which I will fix later.**

 **Warning: Dark themes in this chapter.**

Leonardo watched as his younger counterpart passed out from all the blood loss. He reflected on Leo's words, about Mikey never wanting his brother to kill anyone even if it was to protect him. At that moment, he wondered what his own Mikey would think of him if he were still alive. Was his bright-eyed guardian angel crying right now? Because of him, his leader and hero?

Suddenly he felt no more pain in his bleeding shoulder; he just felt completely numb. The only pain he felt was in his still beating heart. But not for long.

A cold hand caressed his cheek from behind. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

 ** _Are you finally ready?_ **a soft feminine voice spoke to him.

He smiled sadly to himself and slowly nodded. "Yes," he said with finality. He reached up to grab the handle of the katana that was embedded deep into his shoulder. With a hiss and groan, he quickly pulled it out.

But first things first...

He painfully and slowly crawled over to where Leo lay and flipped him onto his shell. The younger Turtle moaned softly as he was being moved, but he never awoke. With weak shaky hands, Leonardo raised the bloody sword over his head and prepared to plunge it through Leo's body.

This would be his final kill. Both Serpents were to die tonight for the sake of their brothers' future.

Just as he brought the sword down with full force, a small voice in his head stopped him just before the tip could penetrate the younger Turtle's neck.

 _Wait. There is still hope. After all, he has heard your story. He is determined to change his destiny._

Sighing softly, he lowered the weapon and scooted away from the unconscious Turtle. He then positioned himself in kneeling position and held the katana out in front of him with the tip of the blade pointing at his chest.

There was no turning back now. This would finally end the pain not only for himself but for everyone else. He knew what awaited him after death, but he wasn't afraid. He was only sad that he couldn't be where Mikey was.

He took one last glance over at the passed out Leo and smiled bitterly. "Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you'll change your destiny. Let's hope for Mikey's sake that you do."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, tightening his grip on the handle.

 _Goodbye, my brothers._

...

"I see something!" Donnie yelled as he and his brothers arrived at the docks. The first thing they saw was the headless body of one of the amateur robbers, and lying on the ground a couple of feet away from it were two more bodies.

The Turtles' faces paled as they stared at the gruesome crime scene. Never had they seen anything so horrible in their young lives.

"What happened here...?" Mikey whispered in horror.

Raph's fists clenched in anger. "I have a pretty good idea of who did all this," he growled. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted that guy."

"Wait," Mikey looked over at Raph. "You don't really believe that older Leo did all this, do you?"

"We'll worry about that later," Donnie snapped. "Right now, we need to find our..." His eyes nearly popped right out of his sockets when he saw two familiar figures lying in pools of blood. "Oh, god...LEO!"

Their brother was lying on his shell, his shoulder having a deep laceration that was bleeding heavily. His future counterpart knelt next to him with his head bowed and a sword in his chest, the tip of the blade sticking right through of his shell. Either Leo stabbed him or he...

"I'll check our Leo!" Donnie screamed as he ran to his brother. "You two check on the other one!"

"Who cares about him?!" Raph yelled angrily, kneeling over the young Leo. The hotheaded Turtle was more concerned about his brother than that murderer from the future. Besides, it was pointless to check on him since it was obvious that he was already dead; the guy freaking stabbed himself.

Only Mikey checked on Leonardo, kneeling in front of him and looking for any sign that he was still alive. The older Turtle's eyes were still open and they looked so lifeless that Mikey thought for sure that he was already dead.

But then the dull blue orbs suddenly lifted and they stared straight into Mikey's, startling the younger Turtle. Seeing his beloved baby brother in front of him made the corners of his bleeding mouth lift into a weak smile.

Mikey thought about telling his brothers that Leonardo was still alive, but they were too busy frantically checking Leo over. Thankfully, their leader and Sensei was still breathing and there was still a chance for him.

He wished that he could say the same for Leonardo, who was quickly fading away before him.

Leonardo wished that he had enough strength left to caress those freckled cheeks and whisper his final words of love and comfort to him. But all he could do was kneel there and look into those bright blue eyes that held were filled with wonder and boundless love. It took everything within him to even smile slightly, and he regretted that he could not give Mikey more.

Mikey lifted his hands to embrace Leonardo but paused, as he was afraid that the dying Turtle was so frail that even the slightest touch would kill him. So he could only stare with tears welling up in his eyes.

Seeing those tears broke Leonardo's slowing heart. _Don't cry, Mikey, he silently begged his little brother. Not for me. Don't ever cry again. Smile. Smile and be happy. Always._

He felt her presence behind him and her cold yet gentle lips kissed the dome of his head.

Then darkness took him, the light in Mikey's eyes being the last thing he ever saw.


End file.
